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Study: Americans Love Games, Demos Prove To Be "Crucial"

We Americans love our video games; that fact seems to rise to the surface every time they conduct one of these studies.

As summarized by Industry Gamers, a recent survey at Today's Gamers shows that a larger percentage of the American population actively plays games in comparison to their European counterparts. The survey sampled over 13,000 Internet users from the Netherlands, France, UK, Belgium, US, and Germany, and the results showed that 87% of US males said they play games; the next highest percentage was the UK with 74%. But not only are more US males playing, they're also spending more time with the hobby: the average player indulges in games around 11.5 hours per week, while UK players only spent about 6.5 hours (although those in France spent 7.1 hours). And while females are simply less likely to play games, the ratios still end up to be about the same. Another interesting aspect of the study is that MMOs are far more popular in the US, as 21% of American gamers say they've participated in such games, while only about half that many (10 or 11%) play MMOs in European countries.

We also learn that demos have become an effective marketing tool. About one-quarter of all console gamers in the US said that a demo was "a crucial factor in their buying decision," and again, this is true for both male and female gamers. Lastly, we find that a surprising percentage of console owners are using their systems to watch videos online; about 66% of American PS3 and Xbox 360 owners do this, although the stat drops to 45% in the UK. Well, I don't know about videos, but I love those demos, too.